We all appreciate the convenience and affordability of ordering things for our homes and gardens online and having them appear just a few days later. However, some fixtures around your home aren’t good candidates for the convenient pre-made options available. Depending on the location and climate of your home ready-made options can be temporary at best and purpose built alternatives will perform better and cost less in the long run.
Ready made options
It is incredibly convenient to be able to drive to the local home improvement wear-house or order a landscape fixture online. For some applications and locations that can be a really great option but it’s also a good idea to consider having something purpose built. A lot of the things we buy for our gardens are made of plastic, only last a season or two and then end up in landfill when they get brittle, crack or are outgrown.
If you are buying planters or a trellis for example, try to think about the lifetime of the product. Will you need it for many years to come? Will this item be big enough as your plant grows? Is the product you are buying built to last that long?
I fell into this trap when I first started gardening at my home. I bought cheap plastic deck planters and plant trellises. They just weren’t suited to our cold winters, salt air and often were too small as plants continued to grow. Since then I’ve made concrete planters, used wood as garden edging and generally looked for solutions that would still work in the garden for years down the line.
Location challenges and alternative materials
Some locations call for beefier landscaping fixtures then others. I tend to think of pressure treated wood, stone and metal as better alternatives to plastic for most applications. Plastic contains compounds called plasticizers that are designed to keep it flexible enough not to break over time. The thing is these plasticizers break down just by being outdoors in the UV rays and cold weather. Plastic also gets dull and faded in the summer sun.
Near the ocean many metals aren’t a great solution due to rust. It is possible to sand metal fixtures down and repaint them but it’s often more trouble than most of us are willing to go too, myself included. Certain metals like aluminum and stainless steel can work in coastal areas but they are expensive and not a look that every homeowner is going for. When metal does breakdown it can be recycled indefinitely.
Concrete can be a very good option for some projects however it is best for things you never want to move. I have a special place in my heart for concrete builds but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. If you want truly permanent garden edging there’s nothing better than a concrete installation. It can be any shape including curved and poured in a wide variety of profiles. Used concrete is easily disposed of at recycling facilities and is very inexpensive to dispose of as well.
Most often people opt to use pressure treated wood for purpose built landscape fixtures. It’s relatively inexpensive, easy to customize and very rot resistant. It will last many years and is recyclable when you are done with it. Building a trellis or raised bed out of wood is likely to match an existing deck or wharf and can make almost every fixture you can imagine.
Whatever material you opt for a purpose built fixture will almost always look and work better than a ready-made plastic item.
Custom look and function
Certain applications call for a custom build. A plastic trellis will never be able to support the weight of a wisteria or grape vine over time. Ready made sheds aren’t robust enough to last as wood sheds over more than a couple of seasons. Even the quality of pre-made fence panels doesn’t compare to a custom fence especially in very windy locations. Consider investing in purpose built landscape fixtures like:
- Wood shed
- Trellis
- Edging
- Raised beds
- Pergolas and arches
- Planters
- Storage boxes
- Fences
- Equipment covers
- Sandbox
- Sun shade
Custom options are more expensive initially but can be less in the long run if you are not re-purchasing the same thing over and over again. Building something custom can also work for applications that pre-made items never will. You’ll also end up with something that looks and performs better for you in your space.
If you have a need for a custom fixture in your yard or garden don’t hesitate to reach out!
AMK Landscaping 
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